The Emperor's Sentinels
The Emperors Sentinels are a 23rd Founding loyalist space marine chapter of Ultramarines decent originally assigned to defend the Janus Sub- Sector from Ork attacks due to the sector's history of Xenos raids. Since their founding the chapter has gone on to win many victories in the Emperor's name and have become particularly adept at combating Xenos forces. History The 23rd Founding The chapter was created during the 23rd "Sentinel" Founding, which actually served as the inspiration for the Chapter's name. The purpose of the chapter was to defend Sub- Sector Janus' precious twin Forge Worlds, Amos and Argos, from Ork attacks. This purpose was due to the fact that the Janus Sub-Sector was part of the larger Dormos Sector, which had been infested with greenskins since the time of the Great Crusade. Imperial Forces simply were to thinly spread in that area to keep the Orks back for a deffinent period, and thus a permenant force had to be stationed there. Unfortunately, the Emperor's Sentinels were too eager in their duties and plunged headlong into the fray, attacking the massed Orks on their own territory and losing almost half the newly- formed chapter in the process. Forced to go on the defensive, the Sentinel's began to develop a unique strategy in which they would hold line until the enemy began to waver and then deep strike hard and fast where the Orks were weakest before disappearing to behind their battle line. With these "defend and strike" tactics the Emperor's Sentinels not only held off the Ork's advance but brought the battle to the greenskins, eventually forcing them to retreat from Sub-Sector Janus, for the time being. The Extermination Crusade Also referred to by the Sentinels as the Green Crusade, the Extermination Crusade was a massive effort by the Emperor's Sentinels to cleanse the Dormos Sector of Orks once and for all. The entire chapter was called together under command of Lyctus Meleager. Chapter Master of the Emperor's Sentinels, who led them directly into the fray, dead-set on freeing the Sector of xenos filth. The battles were long and hard, but the sheer tenacity of the Sentinels always managed to pull them through, making a foothold in the Podos Sub-Sector from which they could launch more attacks into the Greenskin's territory. At the time, the entirity of the Dormos Sector was dominated by three distinct faction of Orks. The largest of these was the Ork horde known as the Tuska Kingdom, led by the warlord Umtak Blakscar, the self-styled "Ork King". The Tuska Kingdom dominated nearly half the Sector, making them by far the largest threat. Then there were the Skumbagz, a large band of Ork Pirates that roamed the Sector, raiding and looting planets held by their own species as well as the Janus Sub-Sector. Finally there was a small faction of Orks known as the Red Rippaz Klan, who had taken a small part of the Sector as their own. The Sentinels, knowing full well that they could not single-handedly take on all three Ork factions, instead endevored to turn the Orks on one another, as to make their job easier. Attacking the planet Bladug, a swamp-covered, polluted world held by the Tuska Kingdom, the Sentinels devastated the Orks with and orbital bombardment, before making planetfall to wipe out the stragglers. Making the attack appear to by the work of the Red Rippaz, the Tuska Kingdom was goaded into waging full-scale war with the Ork Klan, distracting them from the Sentinel's themselves. The chapter then set to work obliterating the Skumbagz, cornering their fleet with their own and blasting them into oblivion. During the ensuing void battle, Chapter Master Meleager personally boarded the Skumbagz flagship, killing their leader, the infamous Kaptain Skullmasha, in single combat, destroying the threat of the Ork Pirates once and for all. (MORE TO FOLLOW) Notable Campains *'The Icarus Assault'- 243.M41- Icarus was a strange world of shattered landscapes and mysterious floating "earthbergs", some the size of continents. But despite it's peculiar landscape, the planet was rich in rare minerals used in the making of weapons and armor, and so the Adeptus Mechanicus transformed Icarus into a mining world. Then one day, miners stumbled upon an ancient vault buried deep within the planet's core. Thinking that it might contain xenos technology the vault was cracked open by the manufactorem workers, and a tide of evil was released. Bloodthirsty Xenos, later named "Spikers" by the those who survived the first assault, poured from the vault in thousands. The Xenos stood as tall as Space Marines, with bone- pale skin and arms ending massive chitinous spikes. They overran every manufactorem on the planet as more and more emerged from the vault, but not before the planet's distress signal was received by the Emperor's Sentinels, who dispatched the 2nd Company in purge the planet of aliens. Doing that was easier said then done, but despite heavy losses the 2nd pushed through the Xenos tide to the source of the infestation, the vault. Within the vault the Sentinels discovered that the Spikers had once been a advanced alien race known as the Draecon. The Draecon thought they could harness the raw power of the warp, and payed a terrible price for their hubris. Their planet was torn apart and they them selves where transformed into savage mutants. Even worse, the space marines discovered that Icarus was in the terminal stages of it's destruction and would soon implode upon itself. Upon realizing the planet was doomed the Sentinels retreated, fighting their way through hordes of Spikers and making it off planet just in time to watch Icarus tear itself to pieces. *'The Red Rippaz Return'-436.M41- Still vengeful over their defeat at the hands of the Emperor's Sentinels, the Red Rippaz Ork Klan massed into an enormous WAAAGH! under the leadership of Warboss Bludshredda. Attacking the Janus Sub- Sector once again, the Orks caught the Sentinels off- guard as only the 3rd and 6th companies where currently stationed in the sub- sector along with Chapter Master Lyctus Meleager and his honor guard. But the greatest blow came when Meleager died on the field of battle at the hands of Boss Bludshredda. All would have been lost if the young captain of the Emperor's Sentinels 3rd Company, Helos Dorium, had stepped up to challenge the Warboss. Bludshredda proved to be a fearsome opponent but Helos prevailed by decapitating the Ork with his power sword. Bluddshedda's death threw the ork forces into diseray. From there the 3rd company took the battle to the Orks, not stopping until every last one was killed. Later, Captain Dorium would be promoted to Chapter Master for his act of bravery that turned the tide of the war. *'The Grief War'-731.M41- What started out as a Chaos cult uprising on the planet of Tyrador, quickly turned into a massive daemonic incursion as more and rebellious psykers became conduits for warp- spawn to enter the materium. During this drawn out campaign the Emperor's Sentinel's 5th Company fought side- by- side with forces from both their progenitors, the mighty Ultramarines. Current State of the Chapter The Emperor's Sentinels are currently at full chapter strength of 1000 battle- ready astartes, although this could change at any time. Homeworld and Recruitment Janus Prime is a hive world of continent sized-cities and lush forests, most of which are inhabited by massive creatures similar to the dinosaurs of Ancient Terra, known as Goliaths by the inhabitants of Janus. These massive beasts often times will attack the cities of Janus, causing massive harm and damage. In order to prevent this from happening, Janus Prime's government retains an elite unit of hunters and trackers known as the Harriers. It is the Harriers duty to bring down the Goliaths through a combination of skill and teamwork, preventing them from attacking the cities. The sheer bravery and courage of the Harriers is what drew the attention of the Emperor's Sentinels in the first place, and eventually the Sentinels began to recruit from the Harriers, selecting the most promising of their adolencent trainees to become Chapter Initiates. The trials to become an Emperor's Sentinel are intense, and many trainees do not the survive the experience. Initiates must face tests of strength, endurance, will, and bravery, each one applied to teach the Initiate about the core beliefs of the Sentinels. For example, an Initiate might be sent into the forests of Janus Prime to single handedly kill a Goliath. The Initiates who attack the beast head on always die, but those who plan carefully and suceed in trapping and killing the creature, learn the value of not just bravery, but how planning and strategy can deafeat the most powerful of foes. Fortress-Monastery (MORE TO FOLLOW) Chapter Culture The Emperor's Sentinels are a codex chapter like most Ultramarines successor chapters but their beliefs are quite different. They believe the in order to achieve anything in life, you must be willing to go up against impossible odds. This mantra is drilled into every initiate's head, and is followed by every member of the chapter. This makes them tenacious even for Space Marines, and some might say even suicidal. This belief has also earned them a very high casualty rate, due to the fact that the Emperor's Sentinels refuse to retreat from battle even when vastly over- matched or outnumbered, adding to the belief that they are stubborn to the point of insanity. The Sentinels also abhor Xenos, especially Orks, not because of any religious reason like some chapters but because they have been attacked one to many times by one alien race or another. They have even downright refused the support of aliens such as the Eldar or Tau during battle even when it might be tactically advisable to do so. When it comes to the the religious aspects of the chapter the Emperor's Sentinels are not over zealous, but religious to a degree. They revere the both the Emperor and their Primarch, Guilliman, but unlike some chapters the Emperor's Sentinels do not see the Emperor as divine. Rather, they see they see the Emperor and his Imperium as the ultimate expression of defiance against the odds. After all the Emperor's body is dead, but his mind and soul continue to guide the Imperium even from beyond the grave. Likewise the Imperium is assaulted on all sides and even from within by heretics, mutants, and xenos but stubbornly refuses to fall, a testament to the Sentinels own beliefs. They use these examples to bolster their own faith, truly believing that sheer bravery can win any battle. This however puts the Sentinels at odds with astartes chapters who's beliefs contradict their own, and thus the Emperor's Sentinels look down on them, believing them to be cowardly and undeserving. Chapter Livery The Emperor's Sentinels chapter symbol is located on the left shoulder while squad markings are made out in purple on the right shoulder. The company number is made out in purple on the right knee. Sergeants and Captains are identified by their white helmets. Tactics As mentioned before, the Emperor's Sentinels use a defensive battle strategy, only striking where the enemy is weakest and then withdrawing back to a defensive position. However, they often employ variations of this tactic such as a "bait and switch" strategy where an enemy force is lured into a bottleneck, like a canyon for example, while less than half of the Sentinel's forces is stationed in plain view at one end, presenting themselves as a soft target. When the enemy takes the bait and is lured into the bottleneck the rest of the Sentinel's forces deep strike into the enemies' flank. Both forces attack the the enemy on either side, and kill every last one. Alternate strategies like this are usually used only when the required criteria is met (in this case some form of bottleneck or choke point), otherwise the Emperor's Sentinels fall back on their standard tactic. Although these tactics are not exactly "codex approved", the Emperor's Sentinels do follow the Codex Astartes to a certain point, preferring to only adapt their time- honored strategies if absolutely necessary. This is just one more example of the Sentinel's stubborn nature. Companies 1st Company "Angels of Vigil" - Captain Acamas - Specialize in Deep Striking. 2nd Company "Prophets" - Captain Sestos - Have an unusually high number of librarians. 3rd Company "Justicars" - Captain Xanthus - The 3rd company has a large amount of tactical squads, and therefore prefer to fight the enemy at a distance. 4th Company "Avengers" - Captain Lycaon - Specialize in fast attack, having large amounts of assualt squads and bikers as a result. 5th Company "Crusifiers" - Captain Abydos - Named "Crusifiers" after Captain Abydos impaled a Dark Eldar Archon on a Aquilla column. 6th Company "Xeno Bane" - Captain Chromis - Specialize in Anti- Xenos warfare, especially against Orks. 7th Company "Shield Bearers" - Captain Pandarus - Have been known to go out of their way to defend allies. 8th Company "Watchmen" - Captain Axios - Ever since the Red Rippaz attacked Sub Sector Janus twice, part of the 8th Company is permenently stationed there as a precaution. 9th Company "Void Guards" - Captain Capernicus - As Master of the Fleet, Captain Capernicus is often called upon to command the fleet to blockade planets during large- scale sieges. 10th Company "Harriers" - Captain Telamon - The scout company has unique role due to the fact that that scout often serve as sabatours, cripplling the enemy's vehicles and fortifications before the real battle begins. Chapter Fleet The Emperor's Sentinels are know to have the following ships in their chapter fleet: *''Lightbearer'' (Battle- Barge) *''Vigilance'' (Battle- Barge) *''Defender'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Bringer of Deliverance'' (Strike Cruiser) *''Emperor's Arsenal'' (Strike Cruiser) *''First Blood'' (Strike Cruiser) Deathwatch Service Do to the the Emperor's Sentinels history of combating Xenos forces, many have been selected for Deathwatch Service. One of the more notable Sentinels to be chosen was Veteran Sergeant Calos, who is possibly one of the most experienced members of the chapter besides Captain Sestos. Notable Members Lyctus Meleager (Deceased) The third chapter master of the Emperor's Sentinels, Meleager was a legend among the Sentinels, and it was said that before he died during the Second Battle for Janus, he killed a thousand orks. His name is still invoked by the Sentinels even now. Helos Dorium The current chapter master of the Emperor's Sentinels, Helos is very young, only recently becoming Captain of the 3rd company before he became the Chapter Master. But, what he lacks in experience he makes up for in tactical brilliance. He wields the Blade of Vigil, a sacred power sword originaly wielded by Chapter Master Meleager. Caon Sestos The Captain of the Emperor's Sentinels 2nd company, Sestos is one of the oldest and most experienced members of the chapter. But his cool headed demeanor is replaced with rage when he encounters Xenos of any kind. Ever since Caon served on the Deathwatch, he has hated Xenos of all kinds with a passion unrivaled by even the most zealous of the Emperor's Sentinel, but what happened he cannot say. He carries with him a massive master- crafted Thunder Hammer, Judgement. Calos Tytherion A veteran sergeant from the 1st Company, Talos has served on the Deathwatch on two seperate 3 year periods. He was while he was part of the Deathwatch that earned the nickname "Bruiser" partly because his weapon of choice was an Astartes- Pattern Grenade Launcher. He still wears a pendant in the shape of a Inquisitorial "I" as a reminder of those years. (MORE TO COME) Chapter Relics (MORE TO COME) Relations Feel free to add your own faction! Quotes By: About: (feel free to add your own) Category:Space Marine Chapters Category:23rd Founding Category:Ultramarines Successors Category:Space Marines Category:40kfan